Westmoreland V. CBS

Westmoreland V. CBS (1985).On 22 January 1982, CBS Television broadcast a 90‐minute documentary, CBS Reports: The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception. The program was produced by George Crile and based in large part on reporting by Sam Adams. Crile was the co‐author. The narrator—who also conducted some of the interviews—was Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes.

The program charged that Gen. William C. Westmoreland, while U.S. military commander during the Vietnam War, had led a conspiracy prior to the surprise Tet Offensive (1968) to keep down official intelligence estimates of enemy strength, thereby deceiving President Lyndon B. Johnson, the rest of the military, and the American public. Further, such a “reduction” in enemy strength resulted in the surprise at Tet, with greater troops losses. Most important, public support for the war plummeted.

Three days later, General Westmoreland held a press conference challenging the program and asking for an apology. CBS stood by the broadcast, but an article in TV Guide charged the program with at least eight major errors and violations of CBS procedures.

On 13 September 1982, Westmoreland brought suit against CBS for libel, asking $120 million. The trial—Westmoreland v. CBS—lasted from October 1984 to February 1985. On 17 February 1985, just as it was to go to the jury, the two sides settled, each stating that it had proven its major points.

Burton Benjamin, longtime CBS News executive, was also asked to produce an internal evaluation. After an exhaustive investigation, he concluded the program was “seriously flawed”: it was out of balance; “conspiracy” had not been proven; friendly witnesses had been coddled and those opposing the thesis treated harshly. Mike Wallace stood by the program, but later said that it took him two years to get his confidence back.

The controversy provided an ironically fitting epilogue to arguments between the press and the military over Vietnam.
[See also Culture, War, and the Media; Film, War and the Military in: Newsfilms and Documentaries; Vietnam War.]

Bibliography

Don Kowet , A Matter of Honor: General William C. Westmoreland versus CBS, 1984.
Burton Benjamin , Fair Play: CBS, Westmoreland, and How a Television Documentary Went Wrong, 1988.

Lawrence W. Lichty